A: CONQUEST AND CONSOLIDATION IN THE MAGRIB, 8TH-10TH CENTURY
The Arab development of large galleys capable of transporting war horses gave them a distinct strategic advantage, and the provincial jund armies were soon raiding various Mediterranean islands. Nevertheless, these forces always had more infantry than cavalry.A1: Iberian horseman, 8th century
No pictorial sources and exceptionally few military artefacts survive from the first decades of Islamic rule in the Iberian peninsula. This cavalry warrior is based upon written information, the last Visigothic period and sources from the residual Christian region of northern Spain, Men of Visigothic and Iberian origin converted to Islam to serve in Andalusian Islamic armies, while others served while remaining Christian. His only armour is a simple short-sleeved mail hauberk, while other aspects of his equipment may date from just before the Islamic conquest. His lack of stirrups and frameless saddle reflect a tradition of horsemanship which would continue in Islamic and Christian Iberia for two centuries. (Main sources: shield-boss found in Le Vieux Poitiers area, possibly Islamic mid-8th century, location unknown; sword hilt, 6th-7th century, Museum, Beja, Portugal; bridle bit, early 8th century, Real Armeria, Madrid; stone sarcophagus from Alcaudete, 6th-7th century, Arch. Museum, Madrid)A2: Arab officer, late 8th century
This figure is again largely based on written sources, plus pictures from the Middle East. His headcloth is of a Syrian form while his large cloak would remain typical of North Africa for over a thousand years. The sword is a hypothetical reconstruction of a local Arab development of the Indian sayf al-hind. (Main sources: swords from Lung river & Lagore Crannog, Nat.Museum, Dublin; wall paintings, 8th century, in situ Qusayr Amra, Jordan)A3: Berber infantryman, 9th century
These javelins shield and simple costume are typically Berber while the man's helmet and lamellar cuirass have been captured from the Byzantines. The wearing of a sword on the back is shown in several places and seems to be an Arab infantry tradition. (Main sources: Byzantine relief carvings from various locations in Libya, 5th-7th century, Nat. Museum, Tripoli; mosaic, late 8th century, in situ Church of St Stephen, Umm al-Rasas, Jordan)

F: THE AGE OF DISASTER, LATE 13TH-EARLY 14TH CENTURY
The stresses between Andalusians and North Africans were exacerbated by catastrophic defeats during the 13th century. The two Muslim peoples also already differed considerably in culture and military styles, the Andalusians having copied the heavy cavalry and armoured infantry tactics of their Christian foes. Here we imagine the fallen and the fleeing on a stricken field.F1: Andalusian cavalryman, late 13th century
This downed horseman represents the Islamic Andalusian military elite's adoption of Iberian Christian military styles. His full mail hauberk, integral mail mittens, heavy lance, heavy shield hung from a guige, deep saddle with very raised pommel and wrap-around cantle made him very different from the cavalry seen in other parts of the Islamic world. (Main sources: sword, scabbard & sword-belt, Treasury of Monastery of Las Huelgas, Burgos, Spain; Cantigas de Alfonso X, late 13th century, Library, El Escorial, Spain; Moorish garrison of Valencia during Triumphal Entry of James I, wall painting, c. AD 1300, in situ Castel d'Alcanyis)F2: Andalusian heavy Infantryman. 13th century
A similar emphasis on full protection at the expense of agility is seen in this heavily armoured footsoldier, wearing a short scale defence over a mail hauberk which probably extends beneath his kilt or skirt. (Main sources: scale cuirass & axe-head 13th-14th century Alava Museum Vittoria, Spain; Cantigas de Alfonso X, late 13 cent., Library El Escorial, Spain; Arrest of St James, wall painting, early 13th century, in situ Erminta de Santo Juan, Uncastillo, Spain)F3: North African horseman, late 13th century
In complete contrast this North African cavalryman only has a short-sleeved mail hauberk and a distinctive leather shield. The double binding beneath his spearhead was a long-established Arab tradition which continued in North Africa, whereas in the Middle East it was limited to Arab bedouin warriors. His saddle is an early example of a style associated with riding 'a la jinete'. (Main sources: Cantigas de Alfonso X, late 13th century, Library, El Escorial, Spain; Moorish spurs, 13th-14th century, Museum of S Juan Duero, Soria, Spain)F4: Baggage donkey carrying folded tents
The vital baggage animals which carried an army's supplies rarely appear in illustrated sources. (Main source: Cantigas de Alfonso X, late 13th century. Library, El Escorial, Spain)